Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Acquisition and Federal Assistance, Mail Stop 205B, Room 6A331, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192

T -- FEDERAL GEOGRAPHIC DATA COMMITTEE (FGDC) NATIONAL SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE (NSDI) COMPETITIVE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS PROGRAM (CCAP) SOL 1434-HQ-97-PA-00022 DUE 022897 POC Ms. Karen Phillips (703) 648-7372 (contact) Ms. Kathy Craig (703) 648- 7357 (CO) The FGDC invites proposals to facilitate and foster partnerships and alliances within and among various public and private entities to assist in building the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Activities initiated under this program will promote access to data sets that are needed for national, regional, state, and local analyses. Under this FY 1997 program announcement, proposals are to be directed towards four components of the NSDI. The first component deals with creation of a distributed clearinghouse for finding and accessing geospatial data. Efforts considered applicable under this component include creating (inventory, evaluate, catalog data, and establish Internet access) and managing a node on the National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse that provides users with a means for finding, accessing, and sharing data. The second component involves development and promulgation of the use of standards in data collection, documentation, transfer, and search and query. Applicable efforts include stimulating the development of applicable geospatial data standards by 1) creating new standards or adapting existing standards that fall within the realm of the NSDI, and which may or may not be within the scope of current FGDC Subcommittees and Working Groups, or 2) conducting studies to determine what standards are needed to effectively share geospatial data; and, creating new data elements for specific data themes that complement the FGDC Digital Geospatial Metadata content standards by supporting documentation of data sets which are not explicitly geospatial. The third component focuses on the initial implementation of a geospatial data framework that provides a base on which to collect, register, or integrate information accurately. Applicable efforts include creating and managing a node on the National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse that provides users with a means for finding, accessing, and sharing framework-like data; testing and implementing techniques needed to support framework roles of area integration or data distribution; conducting a feasibility project for implementing technical or institutional aspects of the framework; and, identifying, justifying, and implementing elements of metadata at the ~feature~ level, required to support framework operations. The fourth component addresses developing and implementing educational outreach programs to increase awareness and understanding of the vision and concepts of the NSDI. Applicable efforts involve developing educational or outreach material or programs that explain the use of geographic information systems technology for community development, the benefits of data sharing, the use of networking for data sharing, and the importance of data documentation to targeted audiences within the community; conducting programs to increase user comprehension and adoption of the FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata and the Spatial Data Transfer Standard; establishing, developing, or expanding programs or projects, through development of training programs, information guides and other explanatory materials, that increase the contributions of local, regional, or national data sets to the National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse; developing programs to integrate the vision and concepts of the NSDI into formal and informal education at all levels, K through 16; and, activities to strengthen or to help form statewide or regional geographic information coordination mechanisms. The program announcement and application forms are expected to be available on or about November 29, 1996. Applications must be received on or before February 28, 1997. Copies of Program Announcement #1434-HQ-97-PA-00022 may be obtained by writing to Ms. Kathleen Craig, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 205B, Reston, Virginia 20192. Requests may also be made by facsimile to (703) 648- 7901. Applications may be submitted by State and local government agencies, educational institutions, private firms, private foundations, and Federally acknowledged or state-recognized Native American tribes or groups. (0339)

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